Playing with confidence and determination, third-seeded Mariko Fritz-Krockow, of Orinda, captured the USTA National 40 Hard Court Women’s Singles title with a convincing 6-1, 6-2 victory over second-seeded Dina McBride, of Thousand Oaks, on Saturday morning at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club.
The 40-year-old Fritz-Krockow displayed her powerful baseline game and quickly took control of the first set as she broke McBride in the second game. She went on to take a commanding 5-0 lead before McBride held serve in the sixth game. At 5-1, Fritz-Krockow served out the first set.
In the second-set, McBride regrouped and held serve in the first game and then won a 14-point game to break Fritz-Krockow for a 2-0 lead. However, Fritz-Krockow showed her championship form and broke McBride’s serve three times in winning six consecutive games to wrap up the women’s singles final in 77 minutes.
“It’s amazing. I’m very, very happy. This is what I came here for. My goal was to win. It’s what I’ve been working on all week. It’s so fun to be here. It was a fantastic tournament. It’s very well-run. I really want to come back every year,” Fritz-Krockow said after being awarded her USTA gold ball for winning the national championship.
“Hiromi (Sasano) played fantastic yesterday and I’ll admit I was a little tired this morning. I just dug deep. I knew (McBride) was going to try and mix things up,” Fritz-Krockow added. “She put some moon balls up there, sliced it and came up to the net. That’s what I was prepared for. I just had to be patient and fight through every single point.”
Later in the day, Fritz-Krockow, who celebrated her birthday earlier this week, teamed with Angela Hendy, of Belvedere Tiburon, to win the Women’s Doubles title as they defeated the second-seeded team of Hiromi Sasano and Christine Anzai of San Diego 7-5, 6-0.